American Queen Steamboat Company Solidifies Partnership with Shore Excursions of America

WHY IT RATES: Shore Excursions partnering with American Queen Steamboat will help expand offers and explore new business. - Eric Bowman, TravelPulse Senior Editor

American Queen Steamboat Company, operator of America’s most opulent and luxurious paddlewheel vessels, has entered into a strategic alliance agreement with Shore Excursions of America (SEA) to facilitate and expand its Product Development capabilities in the areas of onboard and shore side development. This alliance will serve as an administrative and creative incubator to expand offerings exploring new business plans for exciting geographical and demographical advancement. 

“We couldn’t be more thrilled about this exclusive partnership with Shore Excursions of America,” explains American Queen Steamboat Company President and COO Ted Sykes. “Thanks to this multi-year agreement, we can continue crafting and offering shore excursions that are thoughtfully designed to optimize the guest experience with plenty of activity and endless enjoyment.”

Currently, SEA operates all Shore Excursions, Hospitality and City Stay products for American Queen Steamboat Company and has been named “Best Shore Excursions” by Ocean and Cruise News for the past five years. With an inclusive and collegial approach to the project, American Queen Steamboat Company and SEA believe that this seamless method and the development of expanded active and contemporary activities will increase guest satisfaction to elevated levels of American Queen Steamboat Company’s already ample success. This strategic alliance with SEA strengthens American Queen Steamboat Company’s efforts to remain in the forefront of industry trends and to become the leader of industry standards in North America.

SEA will coordinate product development under the direction of Eric Welter, Senior Vice President and in conjunction with functional stakeholders within American Queen Steamboat Company including Marketing, Sales, Operations, Shore Excursions, Culinary and Entertainment departments. With this multi-year alliance, additional positions have been created to further bridge the connection between the two companies, including official titles with American Queen Steamboat Company for current SEA employees. The newly formed Product Development team includes James Palmeri, Vice President of Product Development; Ruth Richebacher, Senior Director of Product Development and Shelly Hartfield as Product Development Manager.